Welcome to Our Church Website
Did you know that Riverview First United Methodist Church was the first Methodist congregation in all of Hillsborough County, and that 2021 marks the 175th year that our church has been operating in one Riverview location or another? We look forward to continuing to serve our community’s spiritual needs through worship, bible study, and small groups both at the church and in the surrounding community. And we are happy to serve our communities food needs through our partnerships with the US Department of Agriculture, ECHO, Metropolitan Ministries, Feeding Tampa Bay, South Shore United Methodist Church, the Rice Creek Mobile Home Park, and other supporters too numerous to mention.
We continue to provide precautions against COVID-19. We offer social distancing, require masks and temperature checks for those entering the sanctuary and the fellowship hall, and provide hand sanitizer and individual communion supplies. We welcome all those who seek a Sunday worship experience to our early morning service at 8:00 AM, our adult Gleaners Sunday School at 9:00 AM, and/or our regular Sunday Service in the Sanctuary at 10:30 AM.
If you are like many of us, the worship of our God is an important and regular part of your life. RUMC wants to be here for you both today and in the future. We hope to see you soon in person.
RUMC NEWS
February, 2021
January was Stewardship month. Many folks shared experiences and reasons why we should give our time, talent and gifts to the church.
Our Sunday services continue to be available online. We are trying to add some variety with special music or singing. Do you have a musical talent to share with us? If so, please let the Worship committee know.
Nearly 2000 families received groceries the last quarter (October through December) 2020. We are serving more than 60 hot lunches each week on Tuesdays. We encourage you to sign up for at least once a month to help. Serving hot meals can be most rewarding—as can helping out at the pantry, giving out food or packing it for future distributions. Some of the work does not require direct contact with the public if you prefer to stay in the background.
We are proud that we were able to keep up our Connectional askings, our conference obligations, during the past pandemic year of 2020. We were 100% for our apportionment giving in 2020. In addition, we gave the Florida UMC Children’s Home more than $1900 through our noisy offerings and other giving. We thank everyone for their gifts.
Have you noticed the new ramp in front of the sanctuary? It was a gift from Seth Hunt and his EAGLE Scout project. The scouts spent a long Saturday replacing the ramp. We are so thankful!!!
We socialized on a recent Wednesday Evening with a Virtual Bingo Night. The prizes were donated gift cards to restaurants, etc. On March 24th, we plan to guess “who is who” in the pictures. If you can, please send me a picture of your younger self--a baby picture or high school picture would be ideal—and I will scan it into my computer. On March 24th, it will be fun to see whom we can identify.
We are currently studying Revelation on Wednesday evenings, 6:30 pm. You may join us by smartphone or computer. We currently have students from as far away as Connecticut and Tennessee.
We are missing our Hispanic Ministry since Pastor Norma and Rey have moved to North Carolina. What a beautiful group of people they are—we hope to restart our Hispanic Ministry in the near future.
We continue to have many opportunities for you to give your time and talents. If you have a love of numbers, our treasurer and counters like to speak to you. You can meet them in the church library after the Sunday service. Do you have computer skills? We have purchased a Text in Church Program to help keep in contact with our congregation and guests. We need someone with the time and interest to learn and use it.
It is almost time to start the painting that has been postponed after the COVID-19 pandemic. Is yard work your passion? Just look around as you drive by and let us know what you can do. We are planning to hold an Easter on the River service down by the parsonage, and we will need folks to rake leaves and clean off parking lots before that can happen. Have you noticed the work has started on the youth building after it was hit in an accident? We will be cleaning inside the new building in the near future.
We thank everyone in the Riverview community and beyond for their support: RUMC runs on the prayers, financial support, attendance, and involvement of our members.
Our “Virtual Church” Continues
If you still don’t feel confident is these days of pandemic, we are currently Live Streaming our 10:30 AM Sunday worship service every week. You can see worship as it is actually happening by connecting to our YouTube Channel "RUMC Live".
We continue to gather virtually using the ZOOM application on our computers or smart phones. We are using ZOOM to conduct many of our scheduled leadership meetings, and a weekly Wednesday Evening Bible Study on Wednesday at 6:30 PM.
On the website, as always, you will also see a link that will allow you to send in your tithes and offerings electronically; if you prefer to send your tithes and offerings by mail, please send them to:
Riverview First United Methodist Church
8002 U. S. Highway 301 South
Riverview, FL 33578
Remember–God loves you, and so do we!
Pastor Louis Telcy
Care Committee
Worship Committee
Online Giving at RUMC
Giving online is easy and allows you to set up automatic recurring contributions and view your complete online giving history from anywhere you have access to the Internet. Or you can enter one-time contributions from the internet or by smart phone.
To get started, simply follow these easy steps:
- Click on the Online Giving button below. This will take you to our church’s online giving webpage.
- Click on our Create Profile button on that webpage.
- Follow the onscreen instructions to create an online profile and to schedule your recurring or one-time contributions.
Rev. Louis Telcy, Pastor
Here at RUMC, it is our mission to win people to Jesus Christ; to train believers to become growing disciples; and, to send disciples to impact our community and world for Jesus Christ.
Early Service, Sunday 8:00 AM, Fellowship Hall
Regular Service, Sunday 10:30 AM, Sanctuary
8002 U. S. Highway 301 South, Riverview, FL 33578 813-677-5995
Download the February, 2021
Bell Newsletter from this link.
Bible Passage of the Week
Jesus Calms the Storm
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Mark 4:35-41 (NIV)
Meetings and Events Ahead:
Tuesday, Feb.16. Closed Staff-Parish Relationship Committee meeting held via zoom.
Tuesday, Mar. 2 – Trustees Meet via Zoom, 7:00 PM.
Tuesday, Mar. 9 – Church Council Meets via Zoom, 7:00 PM
Monday, Mar. 15. Final deadline for ordering Easter Lilies.
Sunday, Mar. 28--Palm Sunday Service, Sanctuary, 10:30 AM
Friday, Apr. 2--Good Friday Service, Sanctuary, 6:00 PM
Sunday, Apr. 4--Easter Sunday Service Down by the River, 8:00 PM
Order Your Easter Lilies
It’s once again time to order Easter Lilies. Each Lily comes in a 6” pot and is priced at $10.00. Please fill out your order form and attach your payment—either cash or check made out to RUMC. You may place your order in the offering plate, mail it in, or bring it to the church office during business hours. The deadline for your order is March 15, 2021.
Download the Easter Lily Order form from this link.
